To John Swinton and all
This is a topic that interest both as a disabled person and
a Philosophy student interest in the philosophy of
language, a perspective I try to bring onto the discussion
list. The question, I take it, is how to identify and
communicate with people who seem at to have no system of
communication, as we would first see it being biased
towards natural language.
Firstly, I have a question that can perhaps only be
answered by John Swinton- you mentioned (forgive the
possible misquotation) people who have "no words", I take
that means that they allso have no access to a System of
Signs of any kind? eg Sign Language or a private language
i.e. a language only really fully understood by its
creator, but possibly interpretated by an outsider.
As for the question John posed himself, I have no real
answer for, but would like to see more debate on in this
case, terminology. I have find the theway an unknown group
is identified is by using a word referring to some
commonality between mostin the group. Unfortunately, this
can lead to over-generalisation a prejudices and to me is
undesirable.
My own view is that it is sometimes best if peopleare
left to use their own methods and symbol of identification,
linguistic or otherwise to apply to their own
particular situation.
However, logic dictates that all existents,all objects
in the world do by necessity recive a name whether they
like it or not. The best thing I have found is to "get in
first" with the naming.
Michael
Philosophy Undegraduate, Hull University
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M.G.Peckitt
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